A few months ago I wrote about how the Isle of Wight planned on giving the morning after pill to 13 year old girls. Well, a recent UK study indicates that such policies result in teenage children contracting STDs, but not reducing pregnancies. From the story:
A government scheme to give teenagers the morning-after pill free of charge at pharmacies in a bid to cut down on unwanted pregnancies has led to a rise in sexually transmitted diseases, research shows. A study has found that the policy simply encouraged young people to have unprotected sex and had failed to cut down the number of under-age pregnancies.
Professors Sourafel Girma and David Paton of Nottingham University compared areas of England where the scheme was introduced with those where it was not or where it was implemented later. They found that pregnancy rates for girls aged under 16 remained the same while the rates of sexually transmitted diseases increased by 12 per cent in those areas where the pill was available free from chemists. Prof Paton said: “We find that offering the morning-after pill free of charge didn’t have the intended effect of cutting teenage pregnancies but did have the unfortunate side of effect of increasing sexually transmitted infections.
Message! Message! Message! When the government (and the popular culture) implicitly tell kids promiscuity is peachy, don’t be surprised if they get sick.
I recall being in the UK when a 13 year-old-boy was (mistakenly) thought to be a father. It made huge news. At the same time, the government issued directives to parents not to try and instill sexual morality in their children—and then people wondered how such a thing could happen!
Message! Message! Message!
